The final major of the year is here and it promises to deliver a super show. It carries significant favor for me since it takes place at the legendary Oak Hill Country Club in my home town of Rochester, New York. I grew up about 10 minutes from Oak Hill, and although I never played the course, I did caddy twice there as a 15-year-old.
I remember two things distinctly: the players in the groups were making a lot of double bogeys and I was very tired after the rounds—they don’t call it Oak Hill for nothing. It is hilly and tight.
The 1968 U.S. Open took place at Oak Hill and I was a kid in a candy factory—seeing my heroes up close was certainly a thrill—Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Weiskopf, Littler, Casper—the list is almost endless. I remember going to the practice tee for a while and just marveling at how well these men hit the ball. It sounds almost ridiculous, of course. They hit the ball wonderfully, but to see the greatest players on earth hit the ball the way they did it was a thrill in itself. I actually remember seeing Bob Goalby, who had won the Masters just two months earlier, hitting mid-irons to a pin and every one was directly on target and he was carrying on a conversation with someone, at the same time—what an exhibition of ball striking! More on the ’68 Open in a moment but first:
My two favorite holes at Oak Hill are back to back–#’s 13 and 14. Thirteen is the only hole in major championship golf that has not been reached ever in 2. It is not that long, measuring around 596. What is tricky and is why no one has reached it is because of a creek that runs through the fairway around 300 yards from the tee. To carry the water you must hit your drive about 310 yards on the fly, and up to this point, the risk has not been worth the reward. This year, however we could see it reached by Bubba, Dustin, Woodland, Garrigus or someone else—I do look for it to happen. The 14th is the opposite – the shortest par 4 on the course measuring around 320. Reachable by the long hitter, but a shallow green and serious trouble over the green will make this a true risk/reward par 4. Most players will use a longish iron off the tee and attempt to get close with a wedge. Two great holes in major championship golf just happen to be back-to-back!
Back to the “68 Open, Lee Trevino, The Merry Mex won that Open breaking 70 all 4 days and winning in a breeze over Nicklaus by 3. It was a week I will never forget. For the above mentioned reasons, and just simply having a major sporting event come to my home town, an otherwise minor league sports city, hosting this great event and having such a memorable winner. Trevino won $30,000 for his efforts that week and a lifetime exemption to play on the PGA Tour. My, oh my have things changed. The winner this week receives just short of 1.5 million—that’s some inflation in 45 years!
Time for my picks—here goes—by the way I did pick the last two majors correctly so stick to my picks and you can’t go wrong, ha, ha, ha!
I like Matt Kuchar—I picked him early in the year to win a major and this is the one—he hits the ball so straight and at Oak Hill that is a must—he also is brilliant on the greens. Oak Hill’s greens are tough to master as they undulate and have peeks and valleys. I think the committee will not make the place unplayable by putting the pin positions in impossible places but turning the token over, they will not make this target practice either—so Kuchar is my first pick.
My second pick is Jason Dufner—having played very well this past week at Firestone and having lost a PGA playoff two years ago to Keegan Bradley at The Atlanta Athletic Club, Dufner is my second choice. He comes in with momentum and I like that very much.
Third pick is Zach Johnson—who has picked up his pace the last 4 or 5 weeks and comes in with a ton of confidence. The course fits his game—you do not have to be a “bomber” at Oak Hill ball placement and short game will provide us the winner this year—take Zach at number 3.
My last pick—out of the blue is Bo Van Pelt. Hi best finish at the PGA was last year coming in T18. I have no rhyme or reason to pick Van Pelt except to say that often the PGA winner comes out of the blue! He is a long time tour veteran and that does bode well in finishing a major on Sunday.
That’s the way I see it. This 1924 Donald Ross gem is set to have 156 of the world’s greatest players descend upon its fairways and greens (they hope). I am pumped for this great major. I love seeing my old home town shine brightly in the sporting world and this year the “old Lady” should do just fine, thank you!
Send me your picks, I’d love to hear from you—good luck!